


The family we choose

by AlyaG



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Basically Inej and Kaz adopt children, Fluff and Angst, It’s sweet but also angsty, Kid Fic, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:02:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21534898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyaG/pseuds/AlyaG
Summary: Usually, Kaz Brekker didn’t care for children. They were noisy and annoying, and even though they could be used as leverage, he didn’t like spending time in their company. They tended to remind him of himself, and he didn’t like to think about a time when he’d been that vulnerable.That is, of course, until he met Madja.The boy was so similar to Kaz, it was almost painful.He was small, dark-haired and underfed. His clear eyes were different to Kaz’s, but the hurt they showed was the same.
Relationships: Inej Ghafa & Nina Zenik, Inej Ghafa & Original Character(s), Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Kaz Brekker & Jesper Fahey & Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker & Original Character(s), Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa
Kudos: 81





	The family we choose

Usually, Kaz Brekker didn’t care for children. They were noisy and annoying, and even though they could be used as leverage, he didn’t like spending time in their company. They tended to remind him of himself, and he didn’t like to think about a time when he’d been that vulnerable.  
That is, of course, until he met Madja.  
He was twenty the first time he strolled into the Hallway, the new place owned by a new businessman in the Barrel. So far, Kaz hadn’t seen or heard anything worrisome, but he had decided to take a walk in the place, just in case.  
Inej had been gone a few months hunting slave ships, Wylan and Jesper were busy playing house and Nina was still in Ravka, so he was in need of entertainment. Not that he would ever admit it out loud.

So he found himself walking through the doors of the Hallway, smelling the alcohol already, surrounded by a cloud of smoke as thick as pavement and already wanting to get out. Not that he could, of course. He had a message to send.  
That’s when he saw her.  
She must’ve been around four then, so small she didn’t reach his knees. She looked a lot like Inej—that was the main reason why he noticed her—, her dark skin making her stand out in a group of children from Ketterdam, her dark eyes as deep as the ocean as they stared at him. Kaz tilted his head to the side, and she approached him, her steps near silent.  
“Are you here to see Momma?”, she asked, and he nodded. She looked at the cane and furrowed her brow. He was expecting a question, but instead, she said: “You must be Kaz Brekker”.  
“You’ve heard of me?”, he asked, and she nodded heavily.  
“Everyone has”, she looked him in the eye, not a hint of fear in her gaze. “Momma speaks of you. Come, I’ll take you to him”.  
She began walking, and Kaz followed, asking: “Does he? And what does he say?”  
She let out a low laugh and looked back at him, a glint of mischievousness in her dark eyes.  
“Why would I tell you?”  
Kaz shrugged. “I could give you something in return”.  
“Really? What?”  
He cocked his head and had to bend down as he was led to a small corridor. She didn’t slow down for him, which was rare in children. ‘Well’, he thought, ‘if she’s heard of me, she can probably guess I don’t need her to’.  
“What do you want?”, he asked, and she looked doubtful.  
She looked down at her feet, and upon following her gaze, he saw she wasn’t wearing any shoes. Would she be brave enough to ask?  
“I would like a pair of shoes”, she answered finally. “It’s hard to run in these streets without them”.  
‘Probably why you don’t have any’, he thought.  
“I’ll bring them next time I’m here”, he said, and even though she looked suspicious for a few seconds, she ended up shrugging and speaking:  
“Momma admires you. He thinks you’re a dangerous bastard, and he doesn’t want to get in your way... ”, she paused for a few seconds “... yet”.  
Yet. Until he was powerful enough to take him down. Kaz filed the information away and they walked in silence until they reached the door of Momma’s office.  
“Don’t forget my shoes”, the girl said, and then she was gone, her black hair caressing his leg when she turned around.  
“Goodbye”, Kaz said. ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘I’ve finally found a child that doesn’t annoy me’.  
He shook those thoughts away and walked into the office.  
*****

The boy was so similar to Kaz, it was almost painful.  
He was small, dark-haired and underfed. His clear eyes were different to Kaz’s, but the hurt they showed was the same.  
Inej had seen many slaves in her time on the ship, but none had eyes like those. Eyes too wise for their years, eyes used to seeing pain, but eyes still willing to fight.  
When she crouched next to him, she could almost imagine Kaz as a seven-year-old boy, his brother still alive, his voice still sweet...  
She had to stop. Kaz hadn’t told her that so she would pity him.  
“Hello”, she said, and the child stared at her with wary eyes. “My name is Inej Ghafa”.  
He cocked his head to the side. “The Spirit of Freedom?”, he asked, his voice sweet but serious.  
She nodded. Yes, they’d begun calling her that about two years after she’d started to capture ships and release slaves.  
“What’s your name?”, she questioned, keeping her tone low and soft.  
“Jaren, but they call me JJ”, he said, and she gave him a small smile.  
“Do you have any family?”  
“No. They’re all dead. They beat up my father until he died and they raped and cut my mother’s throat”.  
Inej felt her own throat shiver in anger, but she refused to let it show.  
“Is there anywhere we can take you?”, she asked.  
His eyes wer shining as he answered: “You free slaves, don’t you?”  
“Yes”.  
“Take me with you. I’ll do anything that needs doing on your ship”.  
She considered saying no. He was only a child, after all. But his eyes spoke of broken things and pain, and she knew that if she didn’t give him a chance to help he would become something to fear, or he would be consumed by his own memories.  
“Alright”, she answered after a while, and she offered him a hand. “Welcome to the crew of the Lynx, JJ”.  
It had seemed appropriate, somehow, to name her ship after the nickname Tante Heleen had had for her. She’d named her second ship the Helvar, after Matthias, and Nina had smiled at her and toasted when the ship had first set sail.


End file.
